Anger Management and Counselling in Alberton, ON.

Having a short fuse and getting angry easily is often symptomatic of a lack of emotional regulation and being overwhelmed by stressors. When we understand our emotions and seek to dial down the intensity rather than supressing or trying to change our emotional state, we can make better decisions and avoid "hulking out." Together, we can explore causes and preventative approaches to stress management, build emotional awareness (including how other emotions sometimes present as anger), and self soothing strategies to feel more prepared to handle whatever life throws at us.

Anger is a difficult emotion to control once it gets started. Stopping anger is like stopping a runaway train after it has a full head of steam. Managing one of the most powerful emotions takes preparation, awareness and containment skills. I have personally written the book on the Eight Steps to Conquering Chronic Anger. It is used monthly at our centre in anger management classes. Anger can be conquered!

Anger management is a series of preventative and reactionary steps that help us regulate our emotions. While anger management is about executing these skills, the successful implementation depends on a foundational understanding of what anger is and how it operates in one’s life. Without understanding angers unique roots for each individual, anger management techniques become especially challenging to implement. My approach to anger management involves establishing a foundational understanding of anger by examining personal underlying fears and needs. With this foundation set, the individual is able to integrate a personal understanding of anger consistently with strategies and techniques.

All human beings feel and express anger, and thus anger itself is not necessarily bad or good. It's a normal emotion which can sometimes be harnessed to motivate us towards our goals. At times, unhelpful thinking patterns make us vulnerable to being triggered into angry behaviors impacting our relationships and well being. There are many useful tools available to help address the causes of anger, helping clients to understand themselves and their motivations better. Better understanding often translates into more control and an increase in emotional regulation.

Anger, frustration, rage, and reactivity overall, can make a person feel frustrated and powerless; when we have emotional outbursts of any kind they can feel so all-encompassing and make us feel like we are not in control of feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. In working with clients on their emotions I aim to primarily promote an understanding of why our emotional outbursts occur; once this has been established we begin to work on how to manage, mitigate, or change how these outbursts occur, or why we feel the way that we feel in the first place.

Anger is a completely normal, often healthy human emotion. But if it gets beyond your control, it can be very destructive in your work and interpersonal relationships and can drastically devastate the quality of your life. Fortunately, anger can be 'managed' which is very different than 'suppressing' it. Unexpressed anger leads to a host of other problems including high blood pressure. However, when we learn how to 'manage' our anger, we can learn to diminish both the emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. We can learn to avoid triggers and develop strategies. We can learn how to problem solve, change our thinking and relax our bodies.

Anger can be upsetting not only for the one receiving it but also for the one expressing it. Although we can believe that someone "makes" us angry it is usually our own trigger that fires off. We express anger not just because we feel we have a right to be angry but because we use anger as a way of self protection. It says "back off and leave me alone." Understanding your angry pain can free you from it's grip. I have helped many clients with this difficulty through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and inner child approaches that have proven to be successful in the treatment of anger.

Anger is often a secondary feeling and it is important to learn to identify and process the underlying feelings. As a primary feeling anger helps us know when something isn't right and is the energy behind setting appropriate boundaries and enacting change. Our therapists are trained to support you in learning to identify and process anger in a healthy way that improves your relationships and emotional health.

Anger management counseling can help to identify stressors and learn the steps to stay calm in the face of anger. The goal is to handle tense situations in more constructive and positive ways by reducing the emotional and physical arousal that anger can cause. It will provide the tools to take back your life and resolve the triggers that result in unplanned anger reactions.

Anger is a natural emotion. In moderation it empowers us, allows us to draw boundaries, and protect our rights. On the other hand, excessive anger has the power to be destructive, damage relations, and affect health adversely. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) can assist with uncovering sources of destructive maladaptive anger and interchange them with more adaptive emotions necessary for emotional needs to be met, alleviate hurt, and begin the process of healing. As a practitioner of EFT, providing vital skills to resolve old wounds and allowing for more effective emotional communication to facilitate unmet needs is my ultimate goal for the client.

Anger is one of those big emotions that can be tricky to navigate, especially when you are in the heat of the moment. Difficulty managing anger can sometimes lead to reactions that are hurtful to those that we care about the most. It is important to know that anger is not a bad emotion to experience, we just want to be mindful of how we communicate our anger to ourselves and to others. I hold a non-judgemental and safe space for you to explore your relationship with anger and assist you in working towards displaying anger in a way that is more in line with your preferred way of being. Contact me today to book a free consultation.

Our experiences of anger vary greatly. While I don't offer therapy services for anger management, at Psychotherapy Collective, our online clinic, we have many therapists who offer support for clients seeking help with anger. Visit our website to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with a therapist who specializes in anger management https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/areas-of-focus/anger